The Blog Mob
December 20, 2006 on 1:12 pm | In Main, Media, National |“Written by fools to be read by imbeciles.”
Some people (particularly this guy from the Wall Street Journal) don’t care much for blogging or bloggers.
First of all, I will concede that Rago makes some good points about “instantaiety” and the lowering of standards. But no longer do people have to go through conventional channels (letters to the editor, a guest column, carefully screened calls on talk radio) to be heard. And that, on balance, is good for America and the world.
Note that he largely ignores the interactive quality of blogs and the ability of readers to comment, giving them a voice and a role in shaping the blog. Far from simply “gratifying the mediocrity of the masses,” blogging is an infinitely more egalitarian and less elitist form of journalism (and you know how I feel about elitism!).
I guess he’s saying we should leave it to the ponderous professional journalists and pundits to tell us what they think and give us our fix of opinion produced according to their deadlines. I think the benefits of “This is my opinion now” outweigh any problems associated with accuracy or excessive emotion.
As for blogs only attracting like-minded readers, one need look no further than Fred B and Paul B, who (happily) challenge me (and each other) on these pages at every turn. Hey, there are good blogs and bad blogs. I’d like to think this is a good one.
So blog and comment away, America!
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Blogs are here to stay. Would that I could be so certain about op-ed pieces like that one in the WSJ. My hope is that the two could live together. I have a blog, and I’ve been writing op-ed pieces since the late 1980s ( Even had one published in the WSJ ) You’re right. There are good blogs and bad blogs. My guess is that there are a lot more bad ones than good ones. I think it was Groucho Marx who said that he wouldn’t want to be a member of any club that would have him. Club Blogger is one anyone can join. Including yours truly. Getting on the op-ed page requires a writer to go through a process. His work gets looked at, along with the work of others. The op-ed piece one writes competes for limited space ( And growing more limited every day ). Posting an entry on my blog’s a good thing. Getting published is better.
But, as that ” blogger ” Montaigne wrote: what do I know?
Comment by terry mccarthy — December 20, 2006 #
The same meme was offered by Time magazine in the recent issue in which they celebrated ME as the “Person of the Year”. The online media depicted in that article consisted of MySpace pages, various pop culture blogs, and insipid YouTube videos produced by teens alone in the bedroom with a video phone and an ipod.
Scrupulously absent were blogs and web sites run by leading economists, foreign policy experts, military strategists, artists, librarians, informed sports enthusiasts and skilled movie reviewers… let alone the legions of policy and political analysts who are funnier, brighter, and more skilled than those found on the printed pages.
Of course if you spent half your life preparing for a career in a monopoly industry, only to have it invaded by The Whole World, it would be hard to have much more than sour grapes to offer. But as leading media analysts have noted ad nauseum, the MSM has a product quality problem, and until they learn to compete, their long, not so slow decline will continue.
The privileged few have lost the means of production (or more specifically, the means of distribution). It is tempting to say… “beware what you ask for. You might just get it.”
(At least now, finally, most journalist know who Schumpeter is.)
Comment by Jake — December 20, 2006 #
Terry McCarthy,
I think the quote about not wanting to be a member of a club that would have you is from Woody Allen - Guess he could have stolen it from Groucho. Of course, a good copy editor would know this for sure. That’s what’s really missing from blogs, just as it’s missing from many print publications now. Good copy editors keep the written word based on reality, not conjecture. They’re irreplaceable, and disappearing…
Comment by Janet Manko — December 20, 2006 #
Interesting. I thought it was Woody Allen, too. Then I did the research. It was Groucho. From Duck Soup, I think. But I might be wrong.
Comment by terry mccarthy — December 20, 2006 #
According to my Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, Groucho said, “I don’t care to belong to any social organization which would accept me as a member.” I believe he was declining membership in some Hollywood club.
Comment by Terry — December 20, 2006 #
OK, it’s good to know this blog has plenty of copy editing in addition to the opinion, and the real thing, too. Thanks for doing the research for me! I think Woody Allen quoted Groucho in Annie Hall. But I haven’t verified…
Comment by Janet Manko — December 21, 2006 #